A federal court ruled Tuesday that Texas’s new congressional map, which created five additional seats for Republicans, is illegal on the basis of racial gerrymandering.

The US District Court for the Western District of Texas found that the Texas legislature’s intent in redrawing the congressional map was predominantly based on race. According to the court, the new map replaced only “coalition districts,” defined as “majority non-White districts in which no single racial group constituted a 50% majority.” The court concluded that the legislature’s attempt to put one racial group in the majority in certain districts constitutes unlawful racial gerrymandering under the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965, and under the Constitution. As a remedy, the court placed a preliminary injunction on the 2025 map and instructed Texas to use the 2021 map. Absent a successful appeal to the Supreme Court or further legislative action, the 2026 midterms will take place under the prior map.

The redrawing was triggered by a letter from the Department of Justice (DOJ) which “threatened legal action if Texas didn’t immediately dismantle and redraw” its coalition districts, on the basis of a recent Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision interpreting such districts as unconstitutional under the VRA. The District Court disputed this assertion, stating that coalition districts are legal. The court further stated that Texas’s new map “was much more than just politics,” as Texas’s attempt to put one racial group in the majority had an impermissible racial motivation that went beyond trying to increase the number of Republican seats in Congress. The court cited statements from Texas Governor Greg Abbott and other state representatives as evidence.

Governor Abbott’s office released a statement criticizing the ruling, calling claims of discrimination “absurd and unsupported” and arguing that the court has undermined Texas’s authority to draw its own congressional maps. The state intends to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.

The new map has received considerable attention and initiated a battle between states to redraw their congressional maps to offset partisan advantages ahead of the 2026 midterms. California voters passed Proposition 50 to increase the number of congressional Democratic seats shortly after Texas announced its new map, which has since been challenged. States such as North Carolina have also decided to redraw their maps, while others such as Indiana have refused.